


weigh the cost of staying home

by MiniNephthys



Category: End Roll (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-10
Updated: 2016-11-10
Packaged: 2018-08-30 06:11:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8521501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniNephthys/pseuds/MiniNephthys
Summary: Russell's a little late getting back from the festival.  The Informant steps in.





	

Russell is late.

The Informant has a pretty good grasp of where Russell is at all times. It’s just part of the information he has. And he’s staying out at the festival longer than he should. It’s getting dark. Really dark. He and Gardenia should know better than to stay that long, especially since they’re part of the night watch.

The Informant sighs heavily - they’re fourteen years old. It’s not a complete surprise that they’d forget about their job and stay to watch everything the festival has to offer.

That monster will show up tonight, however. It should wait until Russell finally leaves the festival, so that they can just catch up with it. It should be fine.

It’s not. From inside his shop, the Informant hears Yumi’s yell, hears her charge, and knows without checking that that thing has spotted her.

Russell is still at the festival. There’s no telling when exactly he’ll leave. If Yumi tries to defeat a monster of that strength - and there are few monsters comparable to this grotesque creature - by herself, she’ll die.

Russell would feel guilty beyond measure, if Yumi were to die by this thing’s hands. The Informant should consider this a good thing. It’s fine if he just sits here and waits for events to play out.

It’s fine.

...It’s fine.

...The Informant grabs his knife and some pills and leaves his shop, running as quickly as his legs can carry him to where Yumi is losing her fight.

“Damn thing’s too strong- eh, Russell?” Yumi says, struggling to stay on her feet. “No, it’s the info guy? Why-”

“Talk later.” He tosses her a pill that should be good enough to cure most of her wounds. “It’s coming for you in particular, so be on your guard.”

Yumi looks like she wants to ask more about that, but the monster is falling again, just barely missing her. She pops the pill into her mouth and swallows dry, and as her wounds are fading she takes another shot.

The Informant stabs into it. It’s a deep stab, and the monster groans in pain.

“Russell… don’t get in my way… don’t get in Dad’s way…”

The Informant grits his teeth as takes another swipe. Even that voice disgusts him. Yumi gets a good shot at what looks most like a head, but that doesn’t stop the creature.

The monster belches out a horrible stench. “Yumi- My beautiful Yumi-”

“Shut up,” he finds himself saying under his breath.

“My Yumi-”

“Shut up!” It’s yelled this time, the Informant’s attacks becoming wilder. “Just shut up! She’s not yours! Die already!”

Yumi is giving him strange looks in between her shots, but her confusion soon turns to alarm. “Watch out-”

The Informant doesn’t manage to dodge this blow. It knocks him back into a tree, and as he’s groaning, the creature lets out a horrible smell of beer, along with a vapor that hides its escape.

Yumi glares towards the direction the thing ran - away from the town - then hurries toward the Informant. “You okay there?”

“I’ll be fine.” He’s groaning when he gets to his feet. “What about you?”

“Had worse,” she says with a shrug. No you haven’t, he thinks. “Thanks for savin’ my bacon back there.”

“It’s… nothing,” the Informant says. Telling her that he almost didn’t rescue her wouldn’t win him any points.

Her face turns worried again. “That stuff you were sayin’ a couplea minutes ago…”

“Oh.” He really should have been more careful. A little bit of the truth won’t hurt. “Monsters talk sometimes. It’s not something you can understand without experience.”

“Thought it sounded kinda like that,” Yumi says. ““So the stuff it was sayin’-”

“You don’t want to know. Trust me, you don’t.” Also the truth. The Informant looks in the Cradle’s direction, then sighs. “...Let’s leave it alone for now. Russell should be getting back soon.”


End file.
